May 2017: Arizonans Preventing Hunger Action Plan from the DES Hunger Advisory Council

The face of hunger has changed dramatically! Food Insecurity* now affects almost one in six Arizonans.1 The working poor live from paycheck to paycheck without savings. And 2.6 million Arizonans live below 200 percent of the federal poverty line.2 When faced with a car repair, an increase in rent, or a medical emergency, these individuals and families fall behind in payments and cannot free themselves from crushing debt. As the cost of living rises3, hunger affects seniors on fixed incomes, adults working at two or more jobs, and children who worry about empty refrigerators instead of math homework.

Since the Great Recession of 2008, the lines at food banks have continued to grow longer, including persons who formerly donated to those food banks.4 Emergency food providers are stretching to a breaking point. And low-income persons living in “food deserts” lack access to nutritious foods. These are just some of the needs that we can address together.

The Arizona Hunger Advisory Council of the Department of Economic Security invites you (your agency, business, church, school, etc.) to join in taking effective action steps to prevent hunger in your community.

Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap project seeks to learn more about the face of hunger at the local community level. Feeding America has published Map the Meal Gap data since 2009, with support from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, ConAgra Food Foundation and The Nielsen Company, to learn more about food security at the local community level. The annual study measures the population affected by food insecurity and the factors that contribute to need in households across the country, including weekly food-budget shortfalls, demographics, poverty levels and unemployment rates.

2015 Data (released April, 2016): Almost 1 in 5 Arizonans (15.8%), or 1 million people, struggled with food insecurity in 2015. Children are disproportionally affected: more than 1 in 4 Arizona children (24% – an estimated 434,840) suffered from food insecurity in that same time period. Arizona’s struggles with food insecurity exceed national averages: nationwide, the food insecurity rate was 15.4%. By county, Apache County had the highest rate of food insecurity nationwide at 26.6%. When a household suffers from food insecurity, it means they may lack access to or the ability to afford enough food to feed their household. Map the Meal Gap also breaks down food insecurity rates by county and Congressional District, providing an estimate of how much money it would take to make everyone food secure.

In October, they released the Arizona Statewide Report (PDF), which includes vast demographic data such as breakdowns by age, health, employment, education and more for the approximately 1.1 million Arizonans struggling with hunger and poverty.

Apr 2015: Updated 2014 FRAC Food Hardship Data

Arizona’s food hardship rate decreased slightly in 2014 according to a new report from the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). In 2014, one in five Arizonans (19.2%) said that there had been times over the past 12 months that they didn’t have enough money to buy food that they or their families needed. This ranks Arizona 13th worst in the country in food hardship rate, down from a peak of 20.9% in 2012 but still higher than the pre-recession level of 18.8% in 2008, the first year food hardship was tracked. Nationwide, food hardship rate was 17.2% in 2014.

The 2014 report on food hardship includes data by state and Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Food hardship rates are a reflection of the current economic condition, and help quantify the inability of a household to afford enough food for all its members at any point during the year.

Two Arizona MSAs are in the top-100 nationally, with the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale MSA experiencing a 19.2% food hardship rate, ranking 42nd in the country. The Tucson MSA ranked 69th with a 16.9% food hardship rate.

Notes about the 2014 report:

Food Hardship by Congressional District requires two to three years of data to get an adequate sample size for the congressional districts. The redistricting that occurred in the 2012 election impacted this data, thus making breakdowns by Congressional District unavailable. FRAC is hopeful future reports will include data by Congressional District.

The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) released information on School Breakfast demand and participation for the 206-17 school year (PDF). The report shows Arizona is making steady improvement in participation, more than half (54.4%) of low-income Arizona children who receive free or reduced-price school lunches eating school breakfasts. However, this improvement in the number of children served breakfast still resulted in a drop in Arizona ranking at 29th in the U.S. Beyond missed opportunities to ensure hungry kids are starting their days with breakfast – critical for kids to do well in school – Arizona misses out on additional federal funding by serving fewer breakfasts to eligible children than it could.

June 2017: AZ & US Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) Participation for 2016

Arizona served fewer children in 2016 compared to 2015. It was 1 of 10 states with the largest decline in summer breakfast participation. Average Daily Participation (ADP) reduced by 20.1% versus nationwide reduction of only 4.7%.

Comparing participation rates of SFSP meals versus free and reduced-price lunches served by the National School Lunch Program during the school year acts as a proxy for determining how many low income children who may be at a higher risk for food insecurity are having their nutrition needs met over the summer. Currently, more than 1 in 5 Arizona children (25.3%) struggle with food insecurity, meaning they live in households that may lack access to or the ability to afford enough food to feed all household members.

One of the biggest issues facing Arizona is finding a way to have kids return for summer meals on a regular basis. Arizona also had slightly fewer SFSP meal sites and significantly fewer site sponsors in 2016, resulting in some children lacking access to summer meals because sites were located too far away from their residence, or in the case of some rural towns, there were no SFSP sites at all. Not all schools are SFSP sites. Another reason to boost SFSP participation is that food costs are 100% reimbursed by the USDA. If Arizona was able to increase participation levels to meet FRAC’s national goal of 40%, the state would receive an additional $8.7 million in federal funding.

The U.S. Census Bureau released new data showing 17.7% of individuals and 25.3% of children under the age of 18 in Arizona lived in poverty in 2016. Both figures show slight decreases from 2013, where 18.7% of individuals and 27.2% of children lived in poverty. These new rates tie Arizona for both the 6th highest percentage of individuals and the 7th highest percentage of children living in poverty in the U.S.

While the 2016 Arizona poverty rate has lowered from 2013, it still represents an increase over the pre-recession 2007 poverty level of 14.3%. Nationwide, 15.5% of individuals and 22.6% of children under the age of 18 lived in poverty in 2016. Federal Poverty Level (FPL) guidelines in 2016 were set at an annual gross income of $24,250 for a family of four.

Most Arizona Counties treaded water in 2016, seeing slight, non-statistically significant decreases in poverty if they saw one at all. Apache (33.2%), Navajo (28.2%), La Paz (24.8%) and Coconino Counties (17.8%) again had the highest levels of poverty in 2016. Yavapai (13.3%), Pinal (15.4%) and Maricopa Counties (15%) had the lowest levels of poverty in 2016. In Pima County, 18.2% of individuals lived in poverty in 2012, while in Yuma County, 19.3% of individuals lived in poverty in 2016.

By Arizona metropolitan area poverty rates, Tucson (26.7%), Flagstaff (26.2%) and Phoenix (24.1%) had the highest levels of poverty in 2012. Gilbert (6.9%), Goodyear (7.3%) and Peoria (9.0%) had the lowest levels.

Unfortunately, children live in poverty in disproportionate numbers when compared to the general population, and no statistically significant improvements were seen in the 2016 numbers. By percentage of children under of the age of 18, Apache (40.9%), Navajo (38.4%) and Coconino Counties (34.5%) had the highest child poverty rates. By comparison, 25.5% of children in Maricopa County lived in poverty in 2012, while in Pima County, 29.2% of children lived in poverty in 2012.

New research from the Center for American Progress calculates the costs of hunger to America in 2010 at $167.5 billion dollars, a 33% increase over pre-recession 2007 levels. In Arizona, our tab is nearly $4 billion, a 35% increase over 2007 and the 12th largest increase of any state. Nationally, it costs each citizen $542 and each household $1,410 annually.

The cost comprises related healthcare, education, lost productivity, charitable expenses, and more, but does not count federal nutrition programs such as SNAP (Food Stamps).

The report builds upon and updates a 2007 report principally sponsored by the Sodexo Foundation and written by Brandeis University Professor Donald Shepard, the principal author of this report; Larry Brown, who was then on the faculty at of the Harvard School of Public Health; and Timothy Martin and John Orwat from Brandeis University. That initial report, “The Economic Costs of Domestic Hunger,” was the first to calculate the direct and indirect cost of adverse health, education, and economic productivity outcomes associated with hunger. This study extends the 2007 study, examining the recession’s impact on hunger and the societal costs to our nation and to each of the 50 states in 2007 and 2010.

The U.S. Census Bureau released new data showing 17.7% of individuals and 25.3% of children under the age of 18 in Arizona lived in poverty in 2016. Both figures show slight decreases from 2013, where 18.7% of individuals and 27.2% of children lived in poverty. These new rates tie Arizona for both the 6th highest percentage of individuals and the 7th highest percentage of children living in poverty in the U.S.

While the 2016 Arizona poverty rate has lowered from 2013, it still represents an increase over the pre-recession 2007 poverty level of 14.3%. Nationwide, 15.5% of individuals and 22.6% of children under the age of 18 lived in poverty in 2016. Federal Poverty Level (FPL) guidelines in 2016 were set at an annual gross income of $24,250 for a family of four.

Most Arizona Counties treaded water in 2016, seeing slight, non-statistically significant decreases in poverty if they saw one at all. Apache (33.2%), Navajo (28.2%), La Paz (24.8%) and Coconino Counties (17.8%) again had the highest levels of poverty in 2016. Yavapai (13.3%), Pinal (15.4%) and Maricopa Counties (15%) had the lowest levels of poverty in 2016. In Pima County, 18.2% of individuals lived in poverty in 2012, while in Yuma County, 19.3% of individuals lived in poverty in 2016.

By Arizona metropolitan area poverty rates, Tucson (26.7%), Flagstaff (26.2%) and Phoenix (24.1%) had the highest levels of poverty in 2012. Gilbert (6.9%), Goodyear (7.3%) and Peoria (9.0%) had the lowest levels.

Unfortunately, children live in poverty in disproportionate numbers when compared to the general population, and no statistically significant improvements were seen in the 2016 numbers. By percentage of children under of the age of 18, Apache (40.9%), Navajo (38.4%) and Coconino Counties (34.5%) had the highest child poverty rates. By comparison, 25.5% of children in Maricopa County lived in poverty in 2012, while in Pima County, 29.2% of children lived in poverty in 2012.